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Direct3D 12 Turns 10: A Decade of Evolution

2025-09-12

Direct3D 12 Turns 10: A Decade of Evolution

Direct3D 12 celebrates its tenth anniversary! This article looks back at the significant updates to D3D12 over the past decade, including additions like programmable sample points, view instancing, and variable rate shading, as well as enhancements to the HLSL shader language. The author also shares personal development experiences, such as embracing bindless resources and using HLSL templates, and discusses improved debugging techniques. These improvements significantly enhance developer efficiency and game performance, laying a solid foundation for future graphics technology advancements.

(therealmjp.github.io)

Development Graphics API

Build a Tiny, YubiKey-Secured CA for Your Homelab

2025-01-19

Build a Tiny, YubiKey-Secured CA for Your Homelab

This tutorial walks you through building a secure, YubiKey-protected Certificate Authority (CA) on a Raspberry Pi. Leveraging the open-source step-ca and an optional Infinite Noise TRNG for enhanced randomness, you'll create a miniature internal ACME server for your homelab's TLS needs. The guide covers system setup, PKI creation, CA configuration, adding an ACME provisioner, and implementing systemd services for handling YubiKey removal/insertion. The result? A secure, SSH-less, tiny CA.

(smallstep.com)

Development certificate authority

Farallon Islands: A Crucial Wildlife Refuge

2025-03-04

Farallon Islands: A Crucial Wildlife Refuge

Located nearly 30 miles off the coast of San Francisco, the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is home to hundreds of thousands of seabirds and thousands of seals and sea lions. Since 1968, Point Blue Conservation Science has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct research and train the next generation of scientists on the islands, working to conserve and restore this complex ecosystem in the face of climate change and other threats. Due to the sensitive seabird and mammal breeding grounds, the islands are closed to the public, accessible only to a small number of wildlife biologists and resource managers.

(www.calacademy.org)

Misc ecosystem

SepLLM: Inference Acceleration for LLMs by Compressing Meaningless Tokens

2025-03-06

SepLLM: Inference Acceleration for LLMs by Compressing Meaningless Tokens

Large Language Models (LLMs) face significant challenges due to their massive computational demands. Researchers discovered that certain meaningless special tokens contribute disproportionately to attention scores. Based on this, they propose SepLLM, a framework that accelerates inference by compressing segments between these tokens and dropping redundant ones. Experiments show SepLLM achieves over 50% reduction in KV cache on the GSM8K-CoT benchmark with negligible performance loss using Llama-3-8B. In streaming settings, SepLLM effectively handles language modeling with up to 4 million tokens or more.

(sepllm.github.io)

AI Inference Acceleration Model Compression

Should Christians Use AI for Apologetics? A Software Dev's Concerns

2025-01-21

A software developer raises concerns about using AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) for Christian apologetics. He argues that LLMs are fundamentally "bullshit generators," capable of producing truthful outputs but not designed to prioritize truth, making them prone to fabricating information. Using LLMs in apologetics risks spreading falsehoods and damaging Christianity's credibility. The author suggests focusing on creating powerful search engines to improve access to existing resources instead of relying on LLMs.

(lukeplant.me.uk)

Misc Apologetics

China Reveals Details of Alleged NSA Attack on Northwestern Polytechnical University

2025-02-19

China Reveals Details of Alleged NSA Attack on Northwestern Polytechnical University

A blog post details publicly available Chinese reports on an alleged NSA (APT-C-40) cyberattack against Northwestern Polytechnical University. The reports claim the NSA used over 40 unique malware strains, employing techniques including zero-day exploits, MITM attacks, and spear-phishing emails, to steal sensitive data. Chinese cybersecurity firms attributed the attack based on analysis of attack times, keyboard inputs, human errors, and toolkits. The author compares Western and Chinese incident response methodologies and discusses future cybersecurity trends. The authenticity of the claims remains unverified.

(www.inversecos.com)

Tech APT attack

Pi: Blazing Fast and Accurate App Metric AI

2025-05-22

Pi: Blazing Fast and Accurate App Metric AI

Pi is a revolutionary AI tool that automatically identifies and measures key application metrics. Simply provide app prompts, PRDs, user feedback, or have a chat with it, and Pi will quickly help you determine the best calibrated metrics for your application. Powered by the Pi Scorer foundation model, it outperforms Deepseek and GPT 4.1 in accuracy while maintaining the size and speed of GPT Mini and Gemini Flash, scoring 20+ custom dimensions in under 100 milliseconds. Furthermore, Pi seamlessly integrates into your AI stack and existing tools like Google Spreadsheets, Promptfoo, and CrewAI for offline evaluations, online observability, training data quality, model optimization, agent control flows, and more.

(withpi.ai)

AI App Metrics

Pentagon Purges DEI Content: Historical Photos Among Thousands Flagged for Removal

2025-03-29

Pentagon Purges DEI Content: Historical Photos Among Thousands Flagged for Removal

The Department of Defense is undertaking a massive purge of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) content from its websites and social media, targeting over 26,000 images. This includes photos of a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay, and the first women to graduate from Marine infantry training. The action stems from President Trump's executive order ending DEI programs across the federal government. The purge has led to confusion, with images containing the word "gay" mistakenly flagged for removal, impacting both individuals with that surname and the aircraft itself. Historically significant photos, such as those of the Tuskegee Airmen, may be spared. The Pentagon claims it's working to comply rapidly, but the process is proving time-consuming and complex.

(www.nbcwashington.com)

Tech content removal

Python Library for Microsoft Edge's Text-to-Speech Service (No Edge or API Key Needed)

2025-01-23

Python Library for Microsoft Edge's Text-to-Speech Service (No Edge or API Key Needed)

edge-tts is a Python library that lets you use Microsoft Edge's online text-to-speech service directly from your Python code or via command-line tools (`edge-tts` and `edge-playback`). No need for Microsoft Edge, Windows, or an API key. It supports multiple languages and voices, offering customization of speed, volume, and pitch. Install via pip and use simple command-line arguments or the Python API.

(github.com)

Development Microsoft Edge

Crypto Kingpin Sacks: NFTs and Memecoins are Collectibles, Not Securities

2025-01-24

Crypto Kingpin Sacks: NFTs and Memecoins are Collectibles, Not Securities

Crypto heavyweight David Sacks recently told Fox News that Trump's memecoin, along with NFTs, are collectibles, not securities. This statement differs from current regulatory definitions of crypto assets, sparking industry attention. Sacks's view suggests these assets may circumvent stricter securities regulations but also face the same market risks as traditional collectibles.

(fortune.com)

Tech Memecoins Crypto Regulation

Backend-less Blog Comments with Bluesky

2025-08-08

Backend-less Blog Comments with Bluesky

Tired of clunky comment systems? This author cleverly leverages the decentralized social platform Bluesky's AT Protocol to build a lightweight, backend-less blog comment system. By publishing blog posts to Bluesky and using its post URI to fetch comments via the API, the author achieves rich text support, identity verification, and cross-platform conversations. No database or user account management is required, effectively solving the pain points of traditional comment systems. This enhances user experience and increases the scalability and independence of the blog.

(natalie.sh)

Development blog comments

Personal Digital Archives: Unique Data Treasures in the Age of AI

2025-03-19

Personal Digital Archives: Unique Data Treasures in the Age of AI

In her latest bi-weekly newsletter, Linda explores the value of personal digital archives. She argues that in today's age of generative AI tending toward mediocrity, these archives, containing unique personal experiences, preferences, and perspectives, become valuable resources for training AI models and creating more personalized works. The article uses the author's own experience of collecting books, images, and links as an example, and combines the perspectives of historians to illustrate the importance of personal archives in the age of AI. Several examples of personal archives in Finland are also given. Finally, the author calls on readers to share their own collected items and stories, showcasing the richness and unique charm of personal archives.

(helloruby.substack.com)

AI Data Personal Archives

Declassified: The DIY Nuclear Weapon – The 'Nth Country Experiment'

2025-01-24

The National Security Archive has released declassified documents detailing the 'Nth Country Experiment,' a secret mid-1960s project at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. A small team of physicists, using only publicly available information, designed a functional nuclear weapon in just three years. This 'do-it-yourself' project demonstrated the feasibility of nuclear weapon development with limited resources, highlighting the dangers of nuclear proliferation. The released documents, while heavily redacted, reveal insights into the experiment's methodology and conclusions, sparking renewed discussion about the protection of nuclear weapons design information and the threat of nuclear terrorism.

(nsarchive.gwu.edu)

Tech nuclear proliferation nuclear weapons

visionOS 26: Apple's AR Platform Takes Another Leap Forward

2025-06-12

visionOS 26: Apple's AR Platform Takes Another Leap Forward

visionOS 26 delivers substantial improvements to Apple's Vision Pro, enhancing user experience significantly. Key updates include vastly improved Spatial Personas, geographic persistence (saving app and window positions), and support for third-party widgets. New immersive environments (like a customizable Jupiter environment), an upgraded 3D photo algorithm, collaborative viewing capabilities, and support for ultra-wide-field-of-view video are also included. While features like hand controller support are still in development, visionOS 26 demonstrates Apple's continued commitment to the future of augmented reality, solidifying the Vision Pro's long-term potential.

(sixcolors.com)

Tech augmented reality

The Sackler Brothers and LSD: A Tale of Ideals and Profits

2025-01-30

The Sackler Brothers and LSD: A Tale of Ideals and Profits

This article unveils the little-known story of the Sackler brothers' involvement in early LSD research during the 1950s. Initially driven by the idealistic goal of curing mental illness, they actively participated in early LSD trials, attempting to link LSD research to their own hormonal imbalance theories. However, over time, their focus shifted to the commercial potential of pharmaceuticals, ultimately leading to infamy for developing and marketing OxyContin. The article highlights the conflict between idealism and profit motives, and the ethical and commercial considerations in technological advancement.

(resobscura.substack.com)

Tech Sackler Brothers Pharmaceutical Research

Resurrecting 30-Year-Old Apple SCSI Hard Drives: The Rubber-Decay Data Recovery

2025-03-02

This post details the author's experience restoring 1990s Apple-branded Quantum and Conner SCSI hard drives. These drives commonly suffer from a failure mode where they spin up and immediately stop. By opening the drives, the author discovered the root cause: aging rubber bumpers causing the read/write head to stick. Two methods—manually moving the head and using Kapton tape to hold it in place—were successfully employed to recover data. The article also shares interesting details about how data is physically stored on these drives and serves as a reminder to regularly back up important data.

(www.downtowndougbrown.com)

Hardware vintage hardware SCSI hard drive

Designing Lenses with PyTorch: A Differentiable Optics Library

2025-03-21

Torch Lens Maker is an open-source Python library for differentiable geometric optics built on PyTorch. Its ambitious goal is to design complex real-world optical systems (lenses, mirrors) using modern computing and cutting-edge numerical optimization. The core is differentiable geometric optics: 3D collision detection and optical laws implemented in PyTorch. By cleverly treating optical elements as layers in a neural network, and leveraging PyTorch's auto-differentiation and optimization algorithms, designing lenses becomes surprisingly similar to training a neural network, unlocking the power of modern machine learning tools. The project is early-stage and the author is seeking funding to continue development.

(victorpoughon.github.io)

Development optical design

Link Rot Investigation: Personal Blogs Face High Risk

2024-12-24

Link Rot Investigation: Personal Blogs Face High Risk

Blogger Wouter Groeneveld conducted a link rot investigation on his blog, Brain Baking. He checked 3179 external links across 453 posts, discovering approximately 7% were broken, with 404 and 403 errors being the most prevalent. Broken links stemmed primarily from personal blogs, followed by corporate sites and other resources. The findings highlight the lower stability of links on personal websites and a high link rot rate in academic papers. The blogger recommends website builders use permalinks, linkers carefully choose their targets, and consider local storage for external resources.

(brainbaking.com)

Misc link rot

20-Year-Old Handheld Game Reborn: Web Remake of Darklaga Cannonball Symphony

2025-01-03

In 2022, the author rediscovered the source code of their 2004 handheld game, Darklaga Cannonball Symphony, and decided to remake it. To ensure it remains playable for the next 20 years, they used only long-lasting technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebGL 1.0, creating a browser-based game. The entire game weighs only 1.4MB, making it easy to download and install. The article details the technical aspects of the remake, including file size optimization, handling audio decoding issues, and the choice of TypeScript. The remake retains the original gameplay, although the extreme mode proves too challenging for the author now.

(nicollet.net)

Game game remake

Amazon Cloud Chief: Replacing Junior Workers with AI is 'One of the Dumbest Things'

2025-08-20

Amazon Cloud Chief: Replacing Junior Workers with AI is 'One of the Dumbest Things'

Amazon's cloud chief, Matt Garman, warns against replacing junior employees with AI, calling it "one of the dumbest things I've ever heard." He argues that junior employees are the most adept at utilizing AI tools and that cutting them would harm future talent pipelines. Garman advocates for continued hiring of graduates and training them in software development, problem-solving, and best practices. He emphasizes that critical thinking, creativity, and adaptability are more valuable than specialized skills in an AI-driven economy. This contrasts with some who believe AI can replace junior workers; data shows rising unemployment among 20-30 year olds in tech. However, others argue that young engineers offer fresh perspectives and quicker AI adoption.

(finance.yahoo.com)

Tech

Rare Kimsuky Leak Reveals Tactics and Infrastructure of North Korean-Linked APT

2025-09-07

Rare Kimsuky Leak Reveals Tactics and Infrastructure of North Korean-Linked APT

A rare security incident involving a data breach attributed to a North Korean-affiliated actor, dubbed “Kim,” offers unprecedented insights into Kimsuky (APT43) tactics, techniques, and infrastructure. The group focuses on credential-centric intrusions targeting South Korean and Taiwanese networks, blending Chinese-language tooling, infrastructure, and potential logistical support. The “Kim” dump, containing bash histories, phishing domains, OCR workflows, compiled stagers, and rootkit evidence, reveals a hybrid operation between DPRK attribution and Chinese resource utilization. The leaked data includes malware development, OCR parsing of Korean PKI and VPN documents, and reconnaissance targeting Taiwanese government and academic institutions. Analysts uncovered an advanced Linux rootkit employing syscall hooking and stealth persistence. The incident highlights the evolving capabilities of North Korean threat actors and their potential connections to Chinese resources.

(dti.domaintools.com)

Tech

Millau Viaduct: Where Architecture Meets Engineering

2025-08-11

Millau Viaduct: Where Architecture Meets Engineering

The Millau Viaduct transcends the typical bridge; it's a masterful blend of architecture and engineering. Its elegant cable-stayed design gracefully spans the Tarn River gorge, achieving both aesthetic beauty and structural efficiency. Setting multiple world records with its height and span, the viaduct's slender form minimizes its environmental impact, showcasing a triumph of modern bridge design.

(www.fosterandpartners.com)

Design bridge architecture structural engineering

SVG `<path>` Demystified: Mastering the Art of Curve Drawing

2025-08-22

SVG `<path>` Demystified: Mastering the Art of Curve Drawing

This blog post provides a comprehensive guide to the SVG `` element, a powerful tool for creating intricate curved shapes. It breaks down the commands – M, L, Q, C, and the notoriously tricky A (arc) – explaining their parameters and functionalities with clear examples and insightful analogies. The author tackles the complexities of the arc command, clarifying its often-confusing aspects. The post also covers the Z command, relative commands, and practical tips like smoothing chained Bézier curves. A must-read for web developers of all levels.

(www.joshwcomeau.com)

Development curve drawing

Eastern Caribbean Central Bank's $2 Note Named 2023 Bank Note of the Year

2024-12-28

The International Bank Note Society (IBNS) has announced that its members have selected the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank's $2 note as the 2023 Bank Note of the Year. Chosen from nearly 100 new banknotes released globally in 2023, the winning note features a vibrant design combining sports and environmental themes, symbolizing hope for a bright future. The front depicts cricket legend Sir Viv Richards, the 40th-anniversary logo, turtles, and fish. The reverse showcases fish, coral, turtles, and a map of the islands in contrasting bright blue. The ECCB selected this design to inspire the people of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union and youth worldwide.

(www.theibns.org)

Misc banknote design International Bank Note Society Eastern Caribbean Central Bank

Germany Reaches 62.7% Renewables in 2024 Electricity Mix

2025-01-12

Germany Reaches 62.7% Renewables in 2024 Electricity Mix

Germany generated 62.7% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2024, according to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE). Solar power contributed 14% to the total, reaching a record 72.2 TWh. Despite less favorable weather, rapid solar capacity expansion drove this record. Wind power remained the largest source at 136.4 TWh. Battery storage capacity also saw significant growth, increasing from 8.6 GW to 12.1 GW. Germany's CO2 emissions continued their downward trend, falling to 152 million tons in 2024, a 58% reduction from 1990 levels.

(www.pv-magazine.com)

Tech solar power german energy

A Day in the Life of a Medieval King: Charles V of France

2025-07-21

A Day in the Life of a Medieval King: Charles V of France

Christine de Pizan's 'Livre des faits et bonnes mœurs du sage roy Charles V' offers a fascinating glimpse into the daily life of King Charles V of France (1364-1380). From morning prayers and hearing petitioners to council meetings, simple meals, and afternoon audiences, the book details a carefully structured day. Charles's routine reveals a balance between royal duties and refined leisure, strategically using public appearances to project an image of a just and accessible monarch.

(www.medievalists.net)

Misc Medieval History Charles V Monarchy

Viral Animal Illustrations Made Entirely of Circles

2025-04-02

Viral Animal Illustrations Made Entirely of Circles

Artist Dori's stunning illustrations of animals, constructed entirely from circles, have gone viral. The simple yet elegant designs sparked a wave of requests for high-resolution wallpapers and prints. Dori not only shared her creative process but also eventually published a full tutorial on Smashing Magazine. This story highlights the power of creative design and the engaging interaction between artist and audience.

(www.dorithegiant.com)

Design illustration

25 Years Later: The Untold Story of the Mac OS X Dock

2025-01-06

25 Years Later: The Untold Story of the Mac OS X Dock

This blog post recounts the experiences of James Thomson, an early engineer on the Mac OS X Dock. He details his time working on the Dock at Apple in Ireland, including the initial design process, interactions with Steve Jobs, and his eventual departure from Apple. The story is filled with tension and intrigue, including secrecy surrounding the project, Jobs's demands about the engineer's location, and the challenges and triumphs Thomson faced during development. The post offers a fascinating glimpse into the creation of a pivotal piece of Mac OS X, and the journey of a software engineer.

(tla.systems)

Development

Desperate Escape: A South Vietnamese Pilot's Daring Flight

2025-01-26

Desperate Escape: A South Vietnamese Pilot's Daring Flight

As South Vietnam crumbled in 1975, Air Force Major Buang-Ly, his wife, and five children, risked everything by fleeing in a small, overloaded plane. Facing enemy fire and lacking navigation, fuel, and radio, they flew towards the sea, searching for US Navy ships. Miraculously, they landed on the USS Midway, a feat made possible by the courageous decision of the carrier's captain to clear the deck despite enormous risks and potential consequences. The daring landing saved the family's lives, a testament to human resilience in the face of overwhelming odds.

(www.historynet.com)

Misc Vietnam War Escape Miracle

Master AI-Assisted Development: The Vibe Coding Resource Hub

2025-09-01

This comprehensive resource hub offers a complete guide to Vibe Coding, catering to developers of all levels, from beginners to experts. Learn both traditional and streamlined Vibe Coding approaches through step-by-step tutorials, real-world examples, and expert guidance. Benefit from free, comprehensive content built on 10+ years of engineering expertise, perfect for zero-to-one founders, indie hackers, and junior developers.

(vibecodinglearn.com)

Development programming tutorials

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